This invention relates to gaming apparatus that is capable of displaying output from multiple gaming displays in a single viewing area, the gaming apparatus allowing customers to play casino games such as slots, poker, and blackjack.
Casino gaming apparatus having multiple displays are generally known in the art. Such gaming apparatus is typically provided with a cabinet having primary and secondary viewing areas. A first display is mounted inside the primary viewing area of the cabinet, and may be a mechanical display, such as a series of stepper wheels, or an electronic display, such as a video display that is capable of generating video images. Whether mechanical or electronic, the first display may be capable of generating images associated with a game, such as poker, blackjack, slots, keno, or bingo.
Conventional casino gaming apparatus may further incorporate one or more second displays mounted in the secondary viewing area of the cabinet. The second displays may also be of the mechanical or electronic type, and are capable of generating additional images associated with a casino game. The second display is often used as a bonus display that is activated only for a bonus mode, however it may also be used as an alternative primary display.
The primary and secondary viewing areas are spaced from each other, requiring a customer to shift his point of vision between the two. For example, the primary viewing area may be located generally at a customer""s eye level, while the second viewing area may be located in a top portion of the cabinet. As a result, the customer must turn his head up and down between the two viewing areas as play alternates between the first and second displays, resulting in increased fatigue to the customer.
In addition, conventional gaming apparatus typically generates a flat or two-dimensional image. Some devices are known that incorporate parabolic mirrors in an attempt to produce a three-dimensional image having depth. The image produced by the mirrors, however, is often distorted, particularly at the edges of the image, making the images hard to view for extended periods of time. In addition, such apparatus is capable of producing only a relatively small viewable image.
The invention is directed to a gaming apparatus that may comprise a cabinet having a first interior portion and a second interior portion, the cabinet further including an opening defining a viewing area. A partially reflective optical device may be supported inside the cabinet and positioned to transmit light from the first interior portion to the viewing area and reflect light from the second interior portion to the viewing area. A first display may be supported inside the cabinet in the first interior portion, and a second display may be supported inside the cabinet in the second interior portion. A controller may be operatively coupled to the first and second displays, the controller comprising a processor and a memory operatively coupled to the processor. The controller may be programmed to allow a person to make a wager, to cause a first image associated with a casino game to be generated on at least one of the first and second displays, and to determine an outcome of the casino game represented by the first image and to determine a value payout associated with the outcome of the casino game.
The image may represent a casino game selected from the group of casino games consisting of poker, blackjack, slots, keno and bingo, in which case the image may comprise an image of at least five playing cards if the casino game comprises poker; the image may comprise an image of a plurality of slot machine reels if the casino game comprises slots; the image may comprise an image of a plurality of playing cards if the casino game comprises blackjack; the image may comprise an image of a plurality of keno numbers if the casino game comprises keno; and the image may comprise an image of a bingo grid if the casino game comprises bingo.
The controller may be programmed to operate in a normal mode, in which an image is generated by one of the first and second displays, and a bonus mode, in which an image is generated by the other of the first and second displays. The controller may also be programmed to cause image components to be generated simultaneously by the first and second displays to create a composite image.
The features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the detailed description of various embodiments, which is made with reference to the drawings, a brief description of which is provided below.